To qualify as a candidate for either City Council or Mayor in the City of Loveland, the registered voter must gather signatures of at least 25 qualified voters from within the city ward they hope to represent. Below are the petitions filed for Loveland's 2013 election by each candidate.

Eight candidates have submitted petitions to appear on Loveland's municipal ballot this November by returning the required signatures to Loveland's City Clerk before 5:00 PM Monday. (see each candidate's nomination petition - column on right of this page).

Daryle Klassen, who currently represents Ward 1 on Loveland's City Council, is not seeking re-election but instead is running for Mayor of Loveland. Two candidates have filed petitions with the city clerk to occupy Klassen's current seat on Loveland's City Council.

Loveland attorney Troy Krenning filed his papers on August 18 becoming the first candidate in the current election to file his candidacy. Krenning currently serves on Loveland's Planning Commission and ran once before unsuccessfully for Mayor of Loveland. Getting an early start, Krenning has posted signs throughout the community and has longtime ties to the business community. However, as a defense attorney Krenning has also become involved in local controversies like questioning the recently approved raise for Loveland Municipal Judge Starks who is a resident of Greeley. (see LovelandPolitics story last April 'Cost of Innocence' for more details)

Krenning was joined in the race Monday by Irene Fortune who is the business partner of incumbent Councilwoman Joan Shaffer in Ward 2. Fortune is a board member of Shaffer's Front Range on Track. Fortune engendered controversy with the current council for her alleged "extreme" environmental stances when appointed to represent the city on a regional transportation authority.

Shaffer incorporated Front Range On Track in 2010 along with Ft. Collins residents Adam Bruce Bowen and Anne Elizabeth Wilseck. Fortune has served on Shaffer's board of directors for the past three years. Curiously, Front Range On Track dropped Fortune's name from their website the day before she filed her petition with Loveland's City Clerk to become a candidate to represent Loveland's Ward 1 on the city council.

Fortune has a background in chemistry and has been an advocate for various environmental causes. She is an active member of Loveland's anti-fracking movement and close personal friends with Councilwoman Joan Shaffer. Shaffer is reported to have recruited Fortune to run for city council in Loveland. Fortune is a longtime contributor to Democrat party candidates and causes like Senator Mark Udall's 2008 run for Congress. In June of 2012 Fortune spoke on behalf of Front Range On Track to Paul Mueller's local TEDx franchise. Fortune spoke in favor of public transportation as a way to force people out of their cars and create more public transportation saying "that is why I work for passenger rail around here" describing driving and parking as a "vitual barier between you and your destination."

Ward 2

Incumbent Councilwoman Joan Shaffer is defending her seat representing Ward 2 on the Loveland City Council against challenger Carol Dowding. Shaffer, a longtime Democratic party operative, was active in the campaign contribution limit referendum which passed in Loveland and more recently in the anti-fracking group seeking to ban oil and gas exploration within city limits.

Shaffer barely met the deadline to submit her petition shortly before 5:00 PM Monday even completing the information at the clerk's office. Shaffer is not running in "Ward 11" as stated on her petitions but in Ward 2 for those readers who might be confused by her official candidate document. It appears she may have been attempting to put roman numerals failing to underline or line them at the top.

During the council's debate over gun control Shaffer stated, "I am a committed pacifist" but decided to sign the letters to Governor Hickenlooper with her colleagues asking for a stay on enforcement of the recently passed background checks and magazine size limits. A new resident of Loveland's downtown, Shaffer's petition for candidacy reflects mostly signatures of residents of Loveland's downtown which is in Ward 2.

Carol Dowding is a member of Loveland's Planning Commission and a local activist for lower taxes and limited government. Dowding serves on the Larimer County Board of Adjustment and worked with the Northern Front Range Transit Vision Steering Committee.

Ward 3

Incumbent Councilman Hugh McKean is running unopposed. Surprisingly, McKean expressed disappointment to friends and supporters Monday over not having an opponent in the race. McKean stated it is through a competitive election he feels the best connection is made with constituents and their issues.

Ward 4

Incumbent Councilman Dave Clark is being challenged by David Hallet. Clark was re-elected to Loveland's City Council in a special election last year following a vacancy due to another councilor's resignation. Clark battled well healed TEDx activist Paul Mueller who despite receiving an emphatic endorsement by the Loveland Reporter-Herald along with a series of negative articles attacking Clark, failed to defeat Clark.

Dave Clark's father Willard Clark, who recently passed, served on Loveland's City Council in the 1980's and encouraged his children to also be active in community affairs. Dave Clark represented Ward 4 even before this term on city council but vacated the seat for an unsuccessful bid for Mayor. Raised in Loveland, Clark is a civil engineer who has owned and operated his family's construction firm for most of his career.

Clark is being challenged by self-described "political organizer" David Hallet. Hallet is retired from the Thompson School District and lists his profession as "Retired, full-time curmudgeon." Hallet drove a school bus for the Thompson School District after retiring from a career in the military. Hallet is mostly known in local political circles as a local organizer for the Obama campaign.

Irene Fortune (left) and David Hallet (right) have filedpetitions to run for Loveland City Council

Unofficial Election ResultsNovember 5, 2013 (9:57 PM)

Reformers Take Thompson School BoardNovember 6, 2013

School reformers appear to have swept the Thompson Board of Education defeating three of the teacher union sponsored candidates defending the status quo.

Former Loveland Councilwoman Donna Rice handily defeated recently appointed incumbent Jeff Berg who LovelandPolitics first reported voted to increase his wife's compensation. Candidates Carl Langner and now Bryce Carlson have both defeated their union sponsored opponents to make those seeking higher testing scores and less union control of the district to four of seven board members. Carlson's margin of victory is close enough a recount will likely be required before the official results are announced.

Acrimony RisingLoveland City Council and Thompson School Board meetings fill with acrimony as candidates and their colleagues spar during 2013 election.see story

Nepotism Alert:School Board Election:A Family AffairOutlawed in most of the country, immediate family members of school district employees serving on the school board is a practice still allowed in the Thompson School District. Now the husband of a senior staff member is hoping to join the spouse of a teacher and friend on the board this election cycle. see story

Procrastinators Can Still Decide Loveland's Municipal Election

As of last Friday it appears neither side has prevailed in Loveland's Municipal Election as barely 24% of the electorate cast ballotsview story